Thursday, March 25, 2010

Hypocrisy, thy name is Reuters

Allyn Fisher-Ilan of Reuters has an interesting eccentricity. When reporting on a matter being considered by the Israeli Supreme/High Court or a ruling where the action taken by the Court comports with her own anti-Israel views, the Court is clearly identified in the story with Justices named and often quoted. On the other hand, when the Supreme Court rules in favor of Israeli Jews, Fisher-Ilan does her best to demote the Court to a subordinate and typically anonymous status:

Sheikh Jarrah has become a flashpoint of tension in the city since last year when Israel evicted several families descended from Palestinian refugees after an Israeli court found for Jewish families claiming ownership of these properties.

Er, yes, that was a decision by the Israel Supreme Court. As we have noted in the past, for Reuters correspondents, the law is an ass when it disagrees (with their Arabist sympathies).

2 comments:

so if I'm to understand correctly, the people in charge of this super- intelligent Media Watch stuff (ie- you guys) are all Israeli citizens supporting the settlements?wow you guys are objective!not to mention credible since you provide so much information about yourselves and your purpose in life.this is truly invaluable !

RMEW* exposes errors, bias, and propaganda in Reuters Middle East Reporting. It is not a "blog" as such but rather an open, public, evidentiary database documenting Reuters' violations of its own Trust Principles, Handbook, and generally accepted standards of professional journalism.

Reuters Fauxtography Faux Pas

Original photo of Gaza flotilla passenger with knife and pool of blood next to injured Israeli marines (as composed by Turkish IHH photographer)

Cropped version of same photo (as published by Reuters)

Reversal of Reality

"International criticism has also focused on a blockade imposed by Israel on Gaza, where conditions have gone from bad to much worse." -- Reuters reporter Tom Perry

Failure to Fact-Check

"The decline in infant mortality [in Gaza], which has occurred steadily over recent decades, has stalled in the last few years." -- Reuters quoting Max Gaylard, UN Humanitarian Coordinator for the Palestinian territories

Parroting Racist Propaganda

"Palestinians widely believe Israel aims to 'Judaise' the city [Jerusalem], pushing out Arabs and expanding the Jewish population and construction." -- Reuters reporter Tom Perry

Inanimate objects take on a life of their own

"In Sunday's incident [Israeli] police fired tear gas and stun grenades at hundreds of Palestinians who had gathered in anticipation of such a move by groups associated with Jewish settlers in the West Bank. Stones, chairs and other objects hit police." -- (former) Reuters Bureau Chief Alastair Macdonald

Reuters Fauxtography Faux Pas

This Reuters photograph shows blatant evidence of manipulation. Notice the repeating patterns in the smoke; this is almost certainly caused by using the Photoshop "clone" tool to add more smoke to the image -- Little Green Footballs